Gears Of War 2 Written Review

Developer: Epic Games
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Gears of War 2 takes you deeper into the Locust universe with bigger battles, bigger guns, and bigger enemies.

General Effect- 85
The menu system has been greatly improved since the first. It is easy to set up and find matches in any game type. Load times are quick for campaign, but multiplayer takes a long time if you search for anything but Player's Choice. The story has been greatly improved since the first one, but still contains cliché lines and unimpressive objectives.

Graphics- 93
The graphics are at an even higher level than the first and improve on some of the issues the first had. Although, often times the game starts as the graphics are still loading and it makes it look very bad and disorienting.

Gameplay- 73
The cover system is back and even buggier than ever. You will attempt to go into cover at one side and go on the other. Also, it is impossible for people to round corners while ducking. The controls, though, are exactly the same as Gears 1.

Sound- 88

I've always liked the series' sound effects, and this one's no different. Although, it has the exact same track as the first, it still feels as ominous as ever.

Replay Value- 85

Once you beat the game, you unlock Insane Mode, which will keep players occupied for a while. But that's not the only reason, the campaign has very little cutscenes that don't let the player move around during them (which is a deterrent for some) this allows many more playthoughs than some games such as Halo or Mass Effect.

Difficulty- Normal

Having only played on Hardcore, I cannot speak for Insane, but from my experience the game is not very difficult and can be beaten within only a few sessions, if you have a good partner. 

Overall- 83

The game is fun, but it has little lasting value. I was bored of using the same tactics to beat the same enemies over and over again, even in multiplayer, everyone sticks to their same tactics no matter what map it is.